Spectacles for a helmet and helmet fitted with said spectacles

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a device for fixing spectacles to a helmet ( 1 ). The spectacles comprise at least one screen or glass element ( 2,3 ). The device comprises two sides ( 7, 8, 20, 21 ) both of which are fitted with a fitting means for attachment to the helmet ( 1 ). Each side comprises an articulated structure and comprises a means ( 23 ) for pulling back the screen or glass in the direction of the fixing means ( 18 ) such that the spectacles are pressed towards the face of the wearer of the helmet. The spectacles are retractable in relation to the outer front part of the outer shell ( 11 ) of the helmet.

The present invention relates to spectacles to be attached to a helmet and to a helmet fitted with such spectacles.

The technical field of the invention is that of the manufacturing of spectacles.

The invention in particular is applied to helmets of drivers or passengers of fast transportation vehicles, such as motorcyclists' helmets. Such helmets generally include an external stiff cap, an internal cap (or small cap) covering a substantial portion or the totality of the internal face of the external cap, as well as a lining covering the internal face of the internal cap; the latter is thicker and stiffer than the external cap, and is generally moulded in a plastic such as expanded polystyrene.

In this type of helmets, protection of the eyes of the wearer of the helmet against wind, dust or insects notably, is generally provided by a transparent plastic screen which is attached to the external cap so as to be able to switch from a retracted configuration to an active configuration; this switching is generally obtained by rotating the screen, by means of the presence of two substantially diametrically opposite pivots which provide the link between the cap and the screen.

This type of stiff screen, which retracts against the internal face or against the external face of the cap, in the active position (eye protection), extends over several centimetres, in front of the eyes of the wearer of the helmet; in this position, wind and dust may notably rush into the free space separating the screen from the face of the wearer; the screen therefore only imperfectly fulfils its eye protection function, especially when the helmet lacks any chin strap joining the cheeks of the cap.

In Patent EP15796, a ski helmet with a retractable screen, was described, wherein the screen has a lower cut intended to rest on the nose of the wearer; the screen is joined to a jointed hoop at the cap, by an elastic tab which urges the screen towards the inside of the helmet; the hoop forms a half circle with a radius less than that of the external cap; it slides inside a space delimited by the respective front (frontal) portions of the external and internal caps; the hoop is extended by two levers jutting out from the lower edge of the cap; the helmet further includes two ramps for guiding the side edges of the screen which are formed in the front portion of the internal cap.

In such a helmet, the presence of a front hollow space separating the external cap from the internal cap reduces the shock absorption capacity by the front portion of the helmet; moreover, the presence of protruding side levers under the cheeks of the helmet, which are required for causing the pivoting of the hoop bearing the screen, may cause discomfort for the user.

The elastic joining tab of the screen to the hoop has a limited capacity of adaptation to different configurations of faces of users, likely to be encountered; consequently, in any case, with this pad, the edges of the screen cannot be pressed around the eyes of the wearer of the helmet.

Given the fact that adapting this screen support system to “small heads” requires lengthening the elastic tab, the length of the recess for retracting the screen is increased all the more, to the detriment of the performances of the helmet, in terms of shock resistance.

The presence of guiding ramps requires the manufacture of a specially dimensioned helmet for a screen with given dimensions, or conversely, the manufacture of a screen specially designed for a determined helmet model and size.

Moreover a miner helmet was described in the same patent, wherein the screen similarly is retractable, but at the outside of the helmet; the screen may slide on the external face of the cap, guided by external pins fixed on the cap; the levers are replaced with a maneuvering button located at the top of the hoop; this system is not adapted to sports helmets—in particular motorcyclist helmets—which are subject to substantial aerodynamically constraints.

Document FR-A-2717046 describes another device for retracting a visor inside a helmet.

An object of the invention is to propose retractable spectacles for helmets and helmets with spectacles, which are improved.

An object of the invention is to find a remedy, at least in part, to the drawbacks of the known systems for attaching and/or adapting spectacles or retractable screen(s) to a helmet.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a device for attaching spectacles to a helmet with two branches each fitted with a means—such as a pivot—for attachment to the helmet, is provided wherein each branch is deformable and/or jointed, and includes means for bringing the spectacles back towards the means for attachment to the helmet, so that the amplitude of the back movement of the spectacles towards the inside of the helmet may be large and may thus be adapted to very varied face configurations of the wearer.

By means of the invention, the support of spectacles essentially formed by both (left and right) pivoting branches is compact and may easily be designed so as to exhibit with the spectacles which it supports a low aerodynamic drag coefficient; thus, this support is preferably designed in order to slide (during its pivoting) on the external face of the external cap of the helmet.

Further, the forces for bringing the spectacles back towards the face of the wearer, which are distributed and/or applied on either side of the spectacles, promote intimate contact of the spectacles with the portions of the face surrounding the eyes of the helmet's wearer.

In order to provide a large elastic (reversible) deformation amplitude of the branches of the device, each of the return means has an elastic deformation capacity over a large amplitude (or travel) (in particular over an amplitude at least equal to 10 mm); in particular, each return means preferably includes a spiral metal spring.

Still preferably, each of the branches is telescopic, i.e., it includes two branch portions which may slide by remaining nested in each other, for example one around the other, which portions are jointed and brought back toward each other by said spring or return means.

According to another aspect of the invention, a device for attaching spectacles to a helmet by two branches pivotally: mounted relatively to the helmet and joined to the eye screen(s) by a deformable link, in which each branch includes pressing means for pressing (and/or applying) a portion of the branch adjacent to the eye screen(s), against a portion of the section of a cheek of the cap (and/or the helmet); these means facilitate application of the spectacles against the face of the wearer.

In addition, for this purpose, each of the branch portions is preferably joined to the screen side edge by a deformable link, in particular by a joint including a pivot, a hinge or a ball joint.

According to a preferred embodiment, these pressing means cooperate with return means; for this purpose, each of the branches preferably includes a first joint joining said telescopic portion of the branch (which is fitted with a pivot for attachment to the cap) to said branch portion adjacent to the screen; still preferably, each branch includes:

-   -   a first branch elongated portion, a first end of which is firmly         attached to a screen side edge via a first hinge, and a second         end of which has a first bevelled sliding supporting face,     -   a second branch elongated portion, a first end of which is         firmly attached to the second end of the first branch elongated         portion via a second hinge,     -   a third branch elongated portion, a first end of which slidably         receives a second end at least of the second branch elongated         portion, which has a second bevelled sliding supporting face         provided for cooperating with the first bevelled sliding         supporting face, which is pivotally mounted relatively to the         helmet and which includes said return means.

According to another aspect of the invention, spectacles to be attached on a helmet by two branches are proposed, including two screens or screen portions or monocular ophthalmic lenses which are joined by a hasp including a lower cut, in which the hasp is provided with a means (such as a pivot or a hinge with a substantially vertical axis) for mutual pivoting of both screens or both screen portions; this allows the face including both screens or screen portions to assume a first configuration in which the relative inclination of the screens or lenses is adapted to the morphology of the face of the wearer, as well as a second configuration in which the relative inclination of the screens or lenses is adapted to the curvature of the external face of the external cap; with this, the spectacles may be intimately pressed against the face in the active position, and they may be pressed against the cap in the retracted position.

According to another aspect of the invention, spectacles to be attached onto a helmet, are provided, including a binocular screen or two binocular screens and a mounting for joining the screen(s) to the helmet; the spectacles include two branches which are each fitted with a pivot for attaching to the helmet; each branch includes a deformable structure preferably including two mobile portions relatively to each other and a return spring which tends to fold, bend and/or shorten each branch, in order to press the screen(s) against the face of the helmet's wearer.

Preferably, the screen(s) or lens(es) are firmly attached to a central gripping appendage facilitating displacement of the optical screen(s) by the wearer of the helmet and of the spectacles, single-handed; this appendage preferably extends above the hasp and the face, and/or in the extension of the latter; the appendage may for example assume the shape of a horizontal bar joining both monocular screens.

The device according to the invention for assembling spectacles to the cap provides adjustment and automatic adaptation (in depth) of the position of the spectacles relatively to the cap; the wearer (notably a motorcyclist) may easily and rapidly retract the spectacles over the front portion of the helmet and thereby clear his/her field of vision, in the case of emergency; this adaptation is particularly facilitated when each branch includes two pivot or ball joint hinges, which allow at least a translational displacement of the spectacles relatively to the helmet along two or three axes or directions; this double joint facilitates retraction of the spectacles outside the helmet as well as application of the spectacles against the face of the wearer.

The spectacles according to the invention may easily be fitted with filtering and/or corrective glasses or lenses, which may be firmly attached to the mounting, in a removable way, in order to facilitate their replacement.

Other features and advantages of the invention appear in the following detailed description which refers to the appended drawings and illustrates preferred embodiments of the invention with no restrictiveness.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates, in a sectional view through a horizontal anterioposterior plane, a preferred embodiment of spectacles according to the invention, which are firmly attached to a helmet and in an active position for protecting the eyes of the wearer (not shown).

FIG. 2 illustrates, in a perspective view, a motorcyclist wearing a helmet fitted out with retractable spectacles according to the invention having a similar structure to that of the spectacles of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates, in a perspective view from the side, the helmet of FIG. 2, the spectacles of which are retracted.

FIG. 4 is a view, at an enlarged scale, of a telescopic portion of a branch of the spectacles of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, which illustrates an alternative embodiment of a mounting according to the invention which is fitted with removable lenses.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, which illustrates an alternative embodiment of a mounting according to the invention, which covers a pair of corrective spectacles worn by the wearer of the helmet.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the pair of spectacles fitting out the helmet 1 includes two monocular screens 2 and 3 which are joined by a hasp in two portions 4, 5 joined along a vertical axis 6, by means of a hinge 15 integrated into the hasp and joining both portions.

Each of both spectacle branches include three main parts: a first part 7, 8 with an elongated shape along axis 51, is joined by its internal end 41, 42, to the respective side edge 2 a, 3 a, of the glasses or screens 2, 3, via a hinge 30 with a vertical axis 10, i.e., substantially parallel to the joint axis 6 of the hasp; a second part 20 with the shape of a substantially horizontal axis rod 52, is fitted at its rear end with a stop 53 (FIG. 4) and is firmly attached at its front end, to the first part 7, 8, via another joint 31 with also a substantially vertical axis 16; a third part 21 with an elongated shape from the front to the rear, substantially along said axis 52, is firmly attached to the external cap 11 of the helmet 1 via a pivot 18 with a substantially horizontal transverse axis 17.

The whole has a symmetry along an anterioposterior median vertical plane, the trace of which is located as 50 in the plane of FIG. 1.

The third branch portion 21 includes a longitudinal recess 54 receiving the rod 20 and provided with a face 55 for supporting the front end of a spiral spring 23; this spring with axis 52, which extends around the rear portion of the rod 20, between the stop 53 fitting this rod and the stop 55 fitting the recess 54, tends to bring the rod 20 back towards the rear (towards the joint pivot 18 of the mounting relatively to the helmet); because of the link between parts 20 and 7 (8, respectively), this spring also brings part 7 (8, respectively) back towards the pivot 18, as well as the screen of spectacles firmly attached to the latter, while allowing them to move away from the pivot 18: under the effect of a forward traction exerted by the wearer of the helmet, in order to retract the spectacles on the external front portion of the external cap of the helmet, spring 23 is compressed between stops 53 and 55, as the telescopic portion 20, 21 of the branch is stretched out.

The side (external) end 43, 44 of each part 7, 8 is provided with a bevelled sliding supporting face 40, i.e., inclined (by an angle close to 45 degrees) relatively to the longitudinal axis 51 of the part 7, 8; complementarily, the front end of each part 21 is provided with a bevelled sliding supporting face 45, i.e., inclined (for example, by an angle close to 45 degrees) relatively to the longitudinal axis 52 of the part 21; thus, when the parts 7 (or 8) and 21 are brought closer to each other under the action of the spring 23, they come into contact by their respective inclined supporting face, in an area 47 extending beyond the pivot 31, with reference to the median plane 50; under the persistent return effect of the spring, parts 7 (or 8) and 21 then move relatively to each other according to a rotation as illustrated by the arrow 46 in FIG. 1.

These mutual translational and rotational displacements of parts 21 and 7 (8, respectively) under the action of the springs 23, press the internal face 48 of the part 7, 8 against the front face or section 13 (FIGS. 2 and 3 in particular) of the portion 15 of the helmet intended to cover the cheek of the wearer; these folding and shortening movements of each of the branches of the spectacles, preferably associated with the mutual pivoting of the glasses 2, 3 via the jointed hasp 4, 5, cause intimate contact of the periphery of each lens with the face of the wearer of the helmet.

In order to retract the spectacles above his/her eyes, the wearer may grasp the central portion of the mounting, single-handed, via an appendage firmly attached to the hasp or via a horizontal bar 60 (FIG. 2) surmounting and joining lenses 2 and 3; the wearer pushes apart the lenses from his/her face by a forward traction movement, and then retracts the spectacles by a rear traction movement towards the top of the helmet, by deployment of each of the branches made possible by the mutual translational and rotational movements of the three main parts of the each branch, up to the retraction position illustrated in FIG. 3; in this position, the lower (nose) cut of the hasp may cooperate with a stop 14 or a similar means for holding the spectacles in the retracted position.

In order to facilitate the pivoting of the mounting along the axis 17, the internal face 49 of each part 21 preferably has a curvature identical with (or close to) that of the external face of the external cap in the area surrounding the pivot 18; the face 49 may further include a means—such as pads—for promoting sliding of this face against the cap 11.

Moreover, the rod 20 and the recess 54 of the part 21 may also be curved according to a radius close to the radius of curvature of the external face of the cap, so that the mounting may be fitted with a pivoting branch 21 portion, the thickness of which is reduced, in order to reduce its wind catching.

According to another embodiment not shown, the rod 20 may be replaced with a blade or metal strip, for example.

With reference to FIG. 5, each of both lenses of the mounting as illustrated for lens 3, may be detached from the arch 70 and the hasp 5 of the mounting, by switching, according to the arrow illustrated in this figure, from the firmly attached position to the mounting illustrated in dotted lines, to a detached configuration illustrated in continuous lines; conversely, firm attachment of the lens to the mounting may be obtained by fitting it in a groove provided in portions 4, 5, 70 of the mounting.

With reference to FIG. 6, the mounting according to the invention fitted with both of its lenses 2, 3 covers the lenses 80 of a pair of ordinary spectacles worn by the wearer of the helmet, by surrounding the latter and protecting the eyes of the latter; for this purpose, the mounting portion encircling the lenses 2, 3, is preferably provided on its internal face facing the face of the wearer, with a deformable spacer such as a bead or fold (reference 90 in FIG. 1) made in a compressible material such as synthetic foam. 

1. A device for attaching spectacles to a helmet (1), the spectacles including at least one screen or lens (2,3), the device including two branches (7,8,20, 21) with a means (18) for attachment to the helmet (1), characterized in that each branch included a jointed structure and includes a means (23) for bringing the screen or leans back towards the attachment means (18), so as to press the spectacles toward the face of a wearer of the helmet, the spectacles being retractable on the external from portion of the external cap (11) of the helmet.
 2. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each of the branches is joined to the screen (2, 3) side edge (2 a, 3 a) by a deformable link (30).
 3. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each of the branches includes a first joint (31) joining a first branch portion (20, 21) fitted with a pivot (18) for attachment to the cap (11) of the helmet, to a second branch portion (7,8) adjacent to the screen (2, 3), each of the second branch portions (7,8) being joined to the screen (2,3) side edge (2 a, 3 a) by a deformable link (30) including a pivot, a hinge, a ball joint or an elastically deformable structure.
 4. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each of the means (18) for attachment to the helmet includes a transverse axis (17) pivot and wherein each of the return means (23) has a capacity of elastic deformation over a large amplitude or travel, which preferably is at least equal to 10 millimeters.
 5. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each return means (23) includes a spiral spring.
 6. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each of the branches is telescopic, each branch including two branch portions (20, 21) which may slide while remaining nested in each other, which branch portions are brought back to each other by said spring or return means (23).
 7. A device for attaching spectacles to a helmet by two pivoting branches, according to claim 1, wherein each branch includes pressing means (23, 20, 31) for pressing and/or applying a portion (7, 8) of the branch adjacent to the eye screen(s), against a portion of the section (13) of as cheek (15) of the helmet, as well as means for retracting the spectacles on the external front portion of the helmet.
 8. The device, according to claim 1, wherein said joint (31) and said deformable link (30) are hinges with a substantially vertical axis (16, 10).
 9. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each of the first branch portions is telescopic (20, 21).
 10. The device, according to claim 1, wherein each branch includes: a first elongated branch portion (7,8), a first end (41,42) of which is firmly attached to a side edge (2 a, 3 a) of a screen (2,3) via a first hinge (30), and a second end (43, 44) of which has a first oblique supporting face (40), a second elongated branch portion (20), a first end of which is firmly attached to the second end of the first elongated branch portion via a second hinge (31), a third elongated branch portion (21), a first end of which slidably receives a second end of the second elongated branch portion, which is pivotally mounted relatively to the helmet, which has a second oblique supporting face (445) provided for cooperating with the first oblique supporting face (4) and which includes a recess (54) receiving said return means (23)
 11. Spectacles to be attached on a helmet by a an attachment device including two jointed pivoting branches, according to claim 1, which includes two screens or screen portions, or monocular ophthalmic lenses (2, 3) which are joined by a hasp (4, 5) including a nose cut, in which the hasp is provided with means for mutually pivoting both screens or screen portions, in particular a pivot or a hinge (15) with a substantially vertical axis (6).
 12. Spectacles to be attached on a helmet, in particular the spectacles according to claim 11, including a binocular screen or two monocular screens (2,3) and a mounting for joining the screen(s) to the helmet, the spectacles including two branches which are each fitted with means (18) for attachment to the helmet, each branch including a deformable structure (7, 8, 20, 21) preferable including two mobile portions relatively to each other, as well as return means (23) which tends to fold, bend, and/or shorten each branch, for pressing at least one portion of the mounting encircling the screen(s) against the face of the wearer of the helmet.
 13. The spectacles, according to claim 11, wherein the screen(s) or lens(es) is(are) firmly attached to a central gripping appendage facilitating displacement of the optical screen(s) by the wearer of the helmet and of the spectacles, single-hanged, this appendage extending above the hasp and the face, and/or in the extension of the latter, the appendage preferably including a bar (60) joining both monocular screens.
 14. The spectacles, according to claim 11, wherein the arches (70) and/or the hasp (4, 5) of the mounting have means of irremovably attaching the lenses (2, 3) such as a fitting groove.
 15. The spectacles according to claim 11, having the means (90) for partially covering and surrounding at least the lenses (80) of an ordinary pair of spectacles, these means preferably including a deformable and/or compressible spacer provided on the internal face of the arches (70) and/or of the hasp (4, 5) of the mounting.
 16. A sports helmet, (1) in particular a motorcyclist helmet, including a device, according to claim 1, which is retractable on the external front portion of the external cap (11) 